Fancy Bags / Show Bags
Here's something no one really considers: Fancy Bags (Also known as "show bags"). In the US, (and I would assume most other Sonic producing countries) bags are just something to get your stuff home in, except for a few rare occaisions such as conventions, pre-orders & etc. Japan, however, seems to have a different view on bags so you'll see a lot more Sonic packaging from there. This page, however, is for bags from ALL countries. This can also include slip covers, wrappers that may OR may not contain Sonic things. They can be from any store or promotion. What more could you ask for...A Sonic item inside a Sonic bag!
Sonic Gear Main
Unused Loop Bag A thin plastic bag with loop handles on the top. These were sent to me never actually used. How does one aquire a bag without having something to put in it?
It has an interesting 'fade' effect going on for the Sonic art, the fade gets darker until the last one is a full color picture of him. Note the "Segasonic" branding here, that means that it was an early 90s item. Item is in the SonicGear Personal Collection.
Sonic the Hedgehog Christmas bag Christmas shopping or a Christmas present itself...?
Here's a rare Christmas themed Sonic bag. Was it some kind of store offer to get shoppers in time for the holidays? It has an unusual art of classic Sonic dressed in a Santa Claus type suit, with bag of toys. He's shown entering through a window (better than a chimney, maybe?) Look at the single reindeer pulling the sleigh outside...it's empty.
This bag could be aquired somewhere in Japan.
Flat book slip bag with Sonic the Hedgehog in sepia Bag Slogan Poem
This is a flat slip bag for placing thin books, comics or magazines inside of. There is also an identical one where the graphics are in light blue instead of sepia, as shown here.

The quote on the bag says "Don't just sit there and waste your precious time. When you want to do something, do it when you can. Do it right away. It's the only way to live a life without regrets." This is a great quote as said by Sonic the Hedgehog. It appears on many Sonic products throughout Japan. It is quite sad that other countries didn't adopt it.

They come in 'standard' sizes, probably one to fit a book, and another to fit a small variety of magazines. Item is in the SonicGear Personal Collection.

Segasonic Sturdy Plastic bag A simplistic 2 handle-hole bag. The handle placement like that (1 on top of the other) is sort of unusual...was it supposed to make the bag sturdier somehow? The plastic of this one is rather sturdy/thick. This one also showcases the use of the combo-word "Segasonic" which was popular in the early days of Sonic the Hedgehog fame in Japan. This was most likely used to keep him closely associated with Sega and not just the Genesis or Megadrive. It was abandoned later. Item is in the SonicGear Personal Collection.
Sonic 3 Promo Bag Prize or Pre-order This is the only one from the USA in the SonicGear Personal Collection. I won it in a tri-state video game championship. It was used to carry home the prizes. It may have also been a pre-order prize for Sonic 3 in certain stores. It's creative in its design, using the box art from Sonic 3, but placing it inside a large 3, then having various elements coming off the edges of the number. The whole 'background' portion is checkered in blue & yellow while the slogan says "New on Sega Genesis".
Sonic the Hedgehog Red Tape! This isn't really a bag. It's Sonic tape! (Insert horrible pun about cutting through the red tape here)
Do not cheat at sack races
This stuff would be so cool if you could actually BUY it. I think part of the appeal of Japanese items is that there is often so much detail in everything. Packages are actually cool. Stuff is not covered in "MAX'S HOUSE O' JUNK" so that you throw it out the second you get it home. It's far more memorable to have something that reflects the interest of the buyer AS WELL AS the store or company, rather then trying to wave only the boring store name at everyone. Chances are, they'll keep the interesting item that came with their purchase, even if it's 'co sponsored' with the store.
Joypolis Tall Simple White Bag Joypolis Medium 20th Bag Joypolis 20th Anniversary Big Bag Here are 3 bags from Joypolis Japan. The first bag is unusually tall/long, & simple in design. It's mostly white, with a small modern Sonic w/Sega logo near the bottom corner. The middle bag is a rather large bag that was made for the 20th
Photo & owned by: Lisa
Anniversary event they held there. It has the 20th Logo, Sega logo, modern Sonic & logo, all in just blue ink. Sonic is an outline, and he works well, overlayed with the rectangles & print logo. The last bag is pretty much the same as the middle one, only it's larger/the biggest bag of the selection here.
Classic Jumping Sonic Checker Bag This show bag is from Australia. It has the neo-classic jumping Sonic art, nicely shaded, along with large gold rings. The background has sparkles & checkers in light blue. The old-style font (usually seen pixelated) for "Sonic" runs up the side of the bag. Photo & owned by:
Sonic 2 Promo Bag This bag was a pre order item for Sonic 2 in the USA. It uses the sort of odd 'transitional' art piece that has several variations you can see around the site, on other items. That art is interesting, as there's a version of it 'seen from behind', 2 different ones where there's no hand on the 2, & another where Tails is standing normally/doesn't see what's going on. The "Robotnick / Eggman" hybrid type character (with 3 fingers) plus Tails on his way to mutating toward the oddball walleyed nonsense toony Tails the US art got saddled with for quite some time. This bag is uncommon, but it is interesting to see another version of this art. Photo & owned by
20th Anniversary String Bag
This is a type of drawstring bag, but modified so you can carry it/sling it, as well as draw the top shut. The bag is clear, with a great modern Sonic graphic & logo on a plain blue background. Notice the 20th Anniversary Symbol in the corner. This is a quality bag, probably meant for re-use. But where would you get it? Photo & owned by Or@ngeUnicorn1984 Mario & Sonic Winter Olympic Bag This bag was likely given out when you pre ordered Sonic & Mario Olympic Winter Games from an offline retailer. The bag is a nice quality plastic with a cool shot of both characters that's not cluttered. Discovered by SonicBoy19
Gold Line 1998 Bag This bag is rather sophisticated & simple in style. It's black, with only gold ink for the color. It has a sihlouette of modern Sonic, with the logo, and some words. A gold line runs vertically & horizontally along the edge of the bag. This is supposed to be from 1998, was it for SA1? What do the tiny words say?
Tall Strap 1996 Sonic Plastic Bags Here are 2 different show bags from 1996. Each is white, with tall straps at its edges. The first bag has Sonic running in front of a city sihlouette with "Segasonic" spelled up and down the sides. The right side bag has a musical theme. It has scattered music notes on the red & yellow borders. Pointing (or thumbs up?) big hand Sonic is standing in front of 3 strips of music note chart lines. The bottom has a blue rectangle with "Segasonic the Hedgehog" and the Sega logo.
Both bags feature non standard / not stock art, which is fairly unusual. Was the musical themed bag released with a sound track CD?